Welcome back, Uchiha Nagi.
This is the story that belongs to you.
Whether it is the Uchiha, Konoha, or the Akatsuki, they all miss you.
The story begins.
You seem to be cursed.
Living and dying is a process every normal person must go through.
You thought you had died, yet you were born again.
Over and over...
Until you began to suspect you had gone mad.
You started to question the meaning of your existence, to search for something called bonds and love.
After countless cycles of reincarnation, you slowly began to forget the past.
"Who... am I?"
"I am Uchiha Nagi. No. No, I am not... I am... what am I...?"
In the darkness, you saw yourself.
More accurately, you saw your previous life.
You were someone named Uchiha Showa.
"Naori, Izanagi cannot be handed over. Our clansmen will lose their reason for the sake of this power."
You held a long blade in your right hand, your features striking and beautiful.
The woman called Naori had long violet hair. Her expression was calm.
"Showa, I understand all of that. But the very purpose of Izanagi appearing in this world is to prevent deaths in war."
"No. They will use Izanagi to pursue ultimate power. When that happens, all of us will walk toward ruin."
After saying that, you tossed the long blade to the ground and turned to leave.
You became famous in your very first battle against the Senju, gaining the title of the Uchiha's strongest prodigy.
Through a noble's personal request, you came to know Uchiha Naori.
Your personalities matched, and the two of you quickly became confidants.
In the years you spent carrying out missions together, your methods were strange and unpredictable, you loved to scheme, and as your name grew louder across the land, you inevitably accumulated many blood feuds.
Naori, on the other hand, was kind and upright, and in certain choices far braver than you. Among all the Uchiha in the shinobi world, she was probably the only one with a genuinely good reputation.
The two of you had reputations at opposite extremes, so it was only natural that you clashed in your views.
Uchiha Naori was extremely gifted at developing new jutsu. The first time Izanagi appeared was during one of your sparring sessions with her.
After returning to the clan, you each formed your own faction. You chose to pressure your teacher, Uchiha Kuu, into stepping down and successfully became the Great Elder, seizing absolute power over the hawk faction.
Uchiha Naori founded the dove faction and became its first elder. Because her name was already well-known and respected, she quickly gained followers of her own.
In the beginning, the internal factions of the clan coexisted harmoniously, with no major conflicts.
Your governing ability proved even more outstanding than your battlefield performance. Under the rule of the hawk faction, the clan's strength soared, to the point that even the rival Senju could no longer match you.
As an elder, you were vehemently opposed to the widespread dissemination of Izanagi. At the same time, you put forward the idea of conquering the entire shinobi world to achieve peace, which threw the Uchiha into uneasy turmoil.
The faction led by Naori rejected your extreme plan. In her view, war should be ended by love and protection, not by greater slaughter.
Confronted with the clansmen's intense opposition, you did not cling stubbornly to your proposal. Instead, you continued to increase your strength and quietly plan wars against outside enemies.
A few months later, in a large-scale battle against the Senju, almost every Uchiha took the field. Even with you personally commanding, many clansmen still died in that fight.
The heavy casualties among your people struck both you and Naori so deeply that the two of you awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan almost at the same time.
Many Mangekyo wielders appeared within the clan after that. The Uchiha reached an unprecedented peak.
Your clan's fame spread throughout the shinobi world. Nobles treated you with great courtesy, and no other clan dared to face you head-on.
Once you had the Mangekyo Sharingan, your earlier ambitions burned even brighter. You repeatedly took action on your own, launching attacks on other nations.
The great countries moved to assassinate you, the prodigy who had risen in glory at a young age, but were instead led into your traps, their own internal politics reshuffled again and again.
The shinobi world grew ever more unstable. Wars broke out one after another. Within the Uchiha, people began trying to rein you in.
Tasting power, you refused to let go and provoked several more wars between nations.
At last, Uchiha Naori intervened personally, suppressed the unrest, and spoke with you through the night. After that, the two of you completely severed ties over your irreconcilable beliefs.
You tried to seize the position of clan head, but met with fierce resistance from within and were rejected as being too extreme in your methods.
Unwilling to accept this, you attempted to settle the matter with strength. Once again, Uchiha Naori stepped forward.
To everyone's surprise, you halted your killing intent. Stripped of your elder status, you no longer took part in clan affairs.
Later, several elders within the clan died under mysterious circumstances. The truth was right there before everyone's eyes, yet no one dared to speak it aloud.
Uchiha Naori handed over Izanagi. Once the clansmen obtained this power, a catastrophic civil war broke out, one that belonged to the Uchiha alone.
The last time the clansmen saw you, you left behind only a short speech.
"My eyes have seen the fall of the Uchiha. This world is filled with illusions. Only pain never lies."
"The Uchiha are like people already sitting inside a grave, waiting to be buried. Naori will pay the price for her folly."
In order to end the civil war, Uchiha Naori created a forbidden jutsu that countered Izanagi: Izanami.
And just as you predicted, she paid with her life.
Countless Mangekyo wielders died in that internal conflict, but at that time the shinobi world still feared your existence. No one dared make a rash move.
After you were killed by some strange creature, the Uchiha and the Senju entered a long stalemate.
As for Izanagi and Izanami, they became absolute clan taboos, never again being taught to the Uchiha at large.
That was the past life of Uchiha Showa.
You suddenly realized that this so-called previous life was nothing more than a bizarre dream.
Because right now, you are not Uchiha Showa at all.
You are Uchiha Nagi, standing on the battlefield.
You snap your eyes open. Heavy clouds, black as ink, press down on your heart, swallowing what little moonlight remains.
The fine threads of rain weave an icy net between heaven and earth. Wind howls through the night, flinging the raindrops hard against the ground, splashing muddy water in all directions.
A lone lantern flickers, its dim light reflected on your despairing face. The long blade at your side is stained with blood, its cold gleam dull and lifeless in the rain.
You watch as the bodies of your comrades are mercilessly washed by the downpour, the blood spreading through the mud in jagged streams.
Every so often, a dying scream cuts through the sound of the storm, only to be drowned out by the endless rain.
Raindrops strike your armor like the steady knocking of the Shinigami.
Your gaze drifts toward the distance, your eyes full of grief and helplessness. You are alone in this night of rain, wrapped in sorrow, uncertain whether you will have the courage to face this hell of a battlefield again tomorrow.
"Time to go back... I wonder if my little brother remembered to eat properly today."
You tighten your grip on your longsword, give the field of corpses one last glance, then finally turn away.
Rain soaks through your cloak. The thick smell of blood is slowly washed out of the air, yet an inexplicable unease grows inside your chest, and your feet move faster of their own accord.
Inside the dark, damp Uchiha dungeon, candles burn low, the oppressive air heavy with silence.
The old Great Elder of the former faction has been waiting for some time.
"Though the losses this time were severe, you did well. Truly worthy of being the Uchiha's sharpest blade."
Seeing the elder's false face, you cannot help but let out a mocking laugh.
"Unfortunately, that kind of elite expendable is down to just one now. We really have to thank our current clan head for that."
Not long ago, the newly appointed clan head, Uchiha Tajima, issued an order banning the training of death operatives within the clan. Your younger brother had nearly been forced onto the same path as you.
Thankfully, he had not.
Every clan has its expendable soldiers, but the Uchiha are the cruelest of all. They take orphans barely four or five years old and subject them to brainwashing and terror, forcibly awakening the bloodline limit that symbolizes power: the Sharingan.
You move in the shadows, your hands forever stained with resentment, staking your life on every mission.
The Uchiha's death operatives obey only the old guard, not the clan head. That is why they are the greatest threat in Tajima's eyes.
After he ordered the death operative program abolished, the last batch of expendables from the old guard faced a brutal battle with the Senju.
In the end, only you survived.
Having seen too many schemes and too much darkness, you understand all too well that this shinobi world is beyond saving.
The era you live in is known as the Warring States. People live by their clans, fighting and killing on the basis of contracts and payment, all for their own interests.
With nobles constantly issuing bounties and commissions, wars between clans never cease. Even children are forced to take the field, and as a result, both civilians and shinobi have tragically short lifespans, living on average only around thirty years.
Shinobi have long since grown sick of war. Or rather, they are completely exhausted by a life without peace.
Even so, nothing can stop war from happening.
Before this, you always believed that this rotten shinobi world would one day welcome its rightful master, someone who would end the endless wars and bring true peace.
"If you were not still useful, talking back to me like that would leave you wishing for death. Stand down."
The Great Elder's eyes flash with anger at your words. Three red tomoe bloom in his pupils.
Seeing this, your own eyes begin to change. Your Sharingan spins into the same three-tomoe pattern as his. The two of you glare at each other in a tense standoff.
"Do not let your temper ruin your health, Great Elder. I will be taking my leave."
Your tone carries a hint of mockery. Intimidation by strength, is it? Unfortunately for him, you are no longer that weak little orphan.
As you turn to go, you faintly hear the elder's cold snort, but it hardly matters. So long as Asu is safe, nothing else is important.
Night has fully fallen. The house is dark, no lamps lit, quiet as if no one lives inside.
When you step through the door, you find the meal your brother left has already gone completely cold. The unease in your heart grows even stronger.
You pace the room again and again, hands clasped together in a silent prayer that Asu will be unharmed.
Yet no matter how worried you are, you are a death operative. Without an order from the old guard, you are forbidden to show yourself.
That became the greatest regret of your life.
The next day, many clansmen gather in the central grounds of the compound to claim the bodies of the dead. No one speaks. Only silence can cover the wailing in their hearts.
Uchiha Asu was tortured brutally before death, his limbs shattered. It was a deliberate provocation from the Hagoromo clan.
Your only brother is dead. The hatred left behind falls to you alone.
You do not know if it is from the pain, or from something else, but suddenly you start laughing, your laughter tinged with madness.
In a corner, you cling tightly to your brother's corpse, the three tomoe in your eyes spinning wildly.
Blood flows from your eyes as the three tomoe twist and transform.
Your Sharingan turns into a Mangekyo.
"Asu, wait for your sister to come back."
By the time you reach the Hagoromo compound, they are still celebrating around a bonfire, rejoicing over today's raid on the Uchiha.
Because your presence is overwhelming, the Hagoromo shinobi immediately notice the outsider intruding on their land.
Spotting the familiar high-collared blue cloak, someone shouts in alarm, "An Uchiha has broken into the compound!"
Some panic. Some remain calm. You are quickly surrounded.
When they realize it is only one person, the Hagoromo lower their guard.
They look you over. A sickly-looking body, yet you dared to come alone into Hagoromo territory.
They would soon understand why.
Your three-tomoe Sharingan twists into the Mangekyo form, and then the one-sided slaughter begins, swift and spectral like a ghost moving through their ranks.
You do not know how much time passes.
By the time it is over, the entire place is a ruin. Your vision has gone blurry, your eyes no longer seeing clearly.
When Uchiha Tajima arrives with the clan's forces, the first thing he notices is the heavy stench of blood. Then he spots you, slumped against a rock wall, surrounded by Hagoromo corpses.
You are clad in Uchiha attire, your face so smeared with blood that no one can make out your true features.
A high black ponytail, pale skin, lips pressed into a thin red line, and those blood-red eyes.
Mangekyo Sharingan.
Tajima is stunned for a moment, then approaches you.
"You did this?"
The sound of his voice stirs a strange familiarity in you.
You feel as if you have heard it somewhere before.
Then you remember.
This is the voice of Uchiha Tajima, the clan head.
With your vision blurred, you can only turn your head toward the source of the sound.
"Yes."
Your brother's death has left you little more than a walking corpse. Revenge may have brought peace to the dead, but how can it comfort the living?
Perhaps war and hatred are a closed loop, destined never to end for all eternity.
Even without knowing anything about the truth, Tajima can feel the chilling sorrow in your chakra.
"Your name?" Tajima asks. For a clansman with such strength, he must pay special attention.
You curl your lips into a smile, a smile that never touches your eyes.
"My name is Uchiha Nagi."
Uchiha Nagi?
The name rings a bell in Tajima's mind.
He seems to remember hearing that name before.
It is said that Nagi is the strongest death operative the old guard has ever produced. Any assassination she takes on never fails.
But why would Uchiha Nagi be here?
Before Tajima can figure it out, the old guard led by Uchiha Yoshio arrives.
"Uchiha Nagi! How dare you act without orders from the old guard!"
The rebuke is sharp and shrill. Clearly, in the Great Elder's eyes, this is an unforgivable offense.
You give Yoshio a sidelong glance, a hint of indistinct killing intent flickering in your Mangekyo.
"Why did my little brother die? I would like Uchiha Yoshio to explain that to me."
You rise to your feet, pulling your blade free from a corpse at your feet.
Yoshio does not feel even a shred of guilt.
"To die on the battlefield is his glorious duty. Do you not understand that?"
"Heh."
You let out a cold laugh at his righteous-sounding words.
Your blade flashes. Before Uchiha Yoshio can respond, his head is already rolling across the ground.
Everyone freezes, staring at you in shock, their vigilance instantly spiking.
One of the clansmen steps forward.
"Uchiha Nagi, are you rebelling?"
Having seen you cut down his political rival, Uchiha Tajima feels a fierce surge of satisfaction, though his face shows none of it.
"What exactly are you doing?" he asks evenly.
"As you can see."
From that day on, you left the old guard and turned your back on the Uchiha.
You wandered through the great nations, watching war after war erupt.
You began to question what the point of the shinobi world's existence even was.
Until one night, an anonymous letter suddenly arrived in your hands.